Subterranean Sites

Image of Panarchy Tomb Room | Panarchy Tomb Room

Panarchy Tomb Room

The strange, ritualistic-seeming 100+ year basement of a New Hampshire undergrad society

Panarchy is a co-ed undergraduate society at Dartmouth University in Hanover, NH. It’s housed in a large, white, column-fronted residence that dates back to 1835. Originally, the historic house... »

Memento Mori, Architectural Oddities, Subterranean Sites | Edited by JWOcker

Image of Lechuguilla Cave located in City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, US
City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, US

Lechuguilla Cave

Lechuguilla Cave - A cave's rare beauty held a cavernous secret hidden underground

Until 1986, Lechuguilla Cave was just a dead-end historical site used briefly for bat guano mining and intermittently visited by enthusiastic cavers. In the 1950’s however, light was shed on this... »

Geological Oddities, Curious Caves, Strange Science, Subterranean Sites | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

Image of Chilzina and the Forty Steps of Kandahar located in Kandahar, Afghanistan | View at the stairs leading to the rock-cut chamber
Kandahar, Afghanistan

Chilzina and the Forty Steps of Kandahar

Rock-cut chamber at top of an outcroup, reached by a mountain stairway of forty steps

Sometimes, simplicity speaks volumes. A short tower can seem imposing on a featureless plain. A tiny word can say a lot if it's on a blank wall. And 40 simple steps can tell a complex story of... »

Curious Caves, Unusual Monuments, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and others

Image of Coconino Lava River Cave located in Flagstaff, Arizona, US | Holes leading to the surface sometimes punctuate this Lava River Cave, creating a beautiful effect below
Flagstaff, Arizona, US

Coconino Lava River Cave

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock

Lava does weird things. When it flows from a volcano or some other fiery leak in the earth's crust, its surface cools and hardens in the open air, but a viscous molten core continues to flow... »

Fiery Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities, Curious Caves, Natural History, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey and Rachel

Image of Stupa of Takht-e Rostam located in Takht-e Rostman, Afghanistan | View of the stupa and the old plank bridge to the Harmika building
Takht-e Rostman, Afghanistan

Stupa of Takht-e Rostam

Highly unusual subterranean stupa and adjacent cave monastery

There are places in the world so strongly devoted to a particular religion that it is incredibly hard to believe that they have been shaped by any other faith. Afghanistan is one of those places,... »

Unusual Monuments, Cultures and Civilizations , Lost Tribes, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

Image of Sewers of Toronto located in Toronto, Canada | Large underground tunnels still operate to this day as the city's waste removal system.
Toronto, Canada

Sewers of Toronto

A well-preserved network of cavernous tunnels have spent silent centuries removing Toronto's waste

It takes a truly special set of circumstances to turn sewage into a landmark. Or, more appropriately, to turn the path it takes to sewage heaven into a landmark. Large cities have elaborate sewer... »

Architectural Oddities, Follies and Grottoes, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and others

Image of Ellora Caves located in Aurangabad, India | Kailash Temple, a Hindu Dravidian monument built between 756-774 CE in the likeness of Mount Kailash, the home of Shiva
Aurangabad, India

Ellora Caves

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

Religious devotion was not uncommon in ancient times, but tolerance was often much harder to come by. Happily, for curious travelers and religious devotees alike, the caves at Ellora offer a truly... »

Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by capvt, Mark_Casey and 2 others

Image of Guildhall's Underground Amphitheater located in London, United Kingdom | London's Guildhall Yard is a famous city landmark
London, United Kingdom

Guildhall's Underground Amphitheater

A 2000-year-old Roman amphitheater lies just below Guildhall Yard

People find all kinds of interesting things in their basement – antiques, memoirs, collectables. But don't try to swap stories with the proprietors of Guildhall Yard in London, because their story... »

Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and 2 others

Image of London Wall located in London, United Kingdom | The wall section at Cooper's Row stands in contrast to the modern architecture that surrounds it
London, United Kingdom

London Wall

Scattered throughout London are ancient remnants of the city's former bounding wall

It's not uncommon to long for times past, when things were simple – when everyone watched the same TV shows, or when all you needed for a strong national defense was a sturdy wall. Fortunately,... »

Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and others

Image of Subsurface Bahamian Caves located in Twin Lakes, Bahamas | The small "blue holes" on the surface belie the enormous watery environment below
Twin Lakes, Bahamas

Subsurface Bahamian Caves

Inhospitable caverns just beneath this island paradise offer insights into alien worlds

One can picture extraterrestrial researchers doing any number of things. Scanning starry nights with a telescope. Listening for radio signals beamed from other worlds with skyscraper-sized... »

Watery Wonders, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey and Rachel